Inside Look: Bomb Queen #2

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With Bomb Queen II #3 having arrived in stores today, Jimmie Robinson stopped by to fill you in on where the story left off in the second installment.

WARNING: The following contains content not appropriate for all viewers.

Bomb Queen is an over-the-top social satire and superhero parody. Granted, the comedy is VERY black, in fact, some folks have taken the joke quite seriously. For the newcomer, Bomb Queen rules over a small city much like Batman watches over Gotham. However, the reverse twist; Bomb Queen is the villain, and the citizens are even worse. In short, you could sum up New Port City as an open prison, and the Queen as warden. Her dictatorship over New Port City is welcomed by the unsavory lot, but the government has other plans for her rule of law.

Bomb Queen has single-handedly ruled her city for over a decade—after she killed her original villain team, The Four Queens. We enter this story with one of those Queens, not quite dead, taking revenge in the most unusual manner...

PAGE 1

As with any new series, there’s often some explaining of character roles and environments. One scene I’ve reminded readers over the last two story arcs has been Bomb Queen’s townhouse headquarters. This heavily protected building near the city center contains her super-computer assistant, “Occularium”. This is much like the Bat Computer, but more importantly helps her deploy and guide her weapons of mass destruction. Occularium is completely tapped into and controls the entire city infrastructure. Unlike other “computers” I decided on an unconventional look, no buttons, no screen, or standard trappings. It needs to be a character, not furniture.

This page in particular shows the relationship between Queen and Occularium. How the computer monitors her every move through the visor she wears. In this case, Bomb Queen has returned from a wild night of sex with a new guy in town, James Barry. The scene is familiar to Bomb Queen readers. The green living room with a single couch, a red stuffed animal, coffee table and TV remotes. This opening page also tags the trademark black panel with opening quote, which leans heavily on the upcoming story.

PAGE 10

New Port City is an East Coast town and thus winters can be brutal. Unlike the first story arc with sunny skies I decided to change the weather – which also adds a layer to a surprise character reveal later in the issue. Another question I’m often asked is just how does Bomb Queen get around town? In the first story she’s bouncing and leaping, propelled by small explosions under her huge “boots”. But strong icy winds are no fun for anyone, especially when you wear a thong for clothing. This is how I position the new love interest, James Barry, to help Bomb Queen get home when a massive snowstorm hits the city.

Again, I hammer the sacred space of her townhouse and the green living room, sofa, stuffed animal and Occularium. Bomb Queen never invites people into her personal space, but this is the hook of the story. Her Achilles’ Heel is her lack of love and affected as an evil dictator. James Barry exploits that weakness and gains access to her private world. This is where I cement the relationship between Bomb Queen and Occularium.

PAGE 12

After another wild night of sex with James Barry, Bomb Queen is passed out in bed, but our lover has midnight work at hand. He overrides the super computer—notice the color change from emerald green to icy blue. By taking the Bomb Queen Visor linked to the super computer, James Barry has effectively changed all the rules of the game since the first story arc.

This also links to other past histories and origins—which I have to keep under wraps. But fact is, Occularium is a stolen government super computer. Unlike Batman, Bomb Queen doesn’t have a Lucius Fox to acquire advance hi-tech equipment. Thus, Occularium was stolen and put into her employ. This is a sore spot with the government, of course.

PAGE 15

Now that James Barry has taken the Queen’s computer we find our favorite villain alone, naked, and dumped outside the illegal safety of her own city. This is the reveal that James Barry was actually one of the Four Queens, now returned to dispense some long forgotten revenge. At this point, Bomb Queen had been recapping the flashbacks, but now Ice Queen/Barry takes over, recounting her battle and assumed death.

Readers can note this page also shows my coloring choice and style. It’s not deep at all. I chose a bright cartoony color palette for this series, my preferred one for this crazy series and linear wide-open art style. My art tends to be “open”, so shape, shadow and content are formed in color.

PAGE 18

This is where Bomb Queen’s town is justified. Readers often ask how such illegal activity can exist in a country built on law and order—why is New Port City allowed to continue? This page shows the city as a magnet for crime, pulling criminals of all variety to New Port City, and lowering the crime rate across the country. Bomb Queen’s town is a necessary evil, and the government likes it that way, just like gambling in Las Vegas and drugs in Amsterdam.

Sharp readers will notice some reoccurring faces from the old series. This is where the “Shadow Government” joins the story. A secret government security branch that works outside of the law—such as reclaiming New Port City from Bomb Queen. Two characters in particular head this secret organization and lately their main concern has been regime change.

PAGE 19

While the government likes New Port City, they don’t like the self-elected dictatorship of Bomb Queen. I try to enforce this concept at every turn. That the Queen rules the city, owns the town and no one else. While this is good for the criminals inside the city, outside it makes the government uneasy. Regime change has to be neat and clean. The people in town love Bomb Queen like a celebrity, so any change has to be delicate or the criminals will flee back across the country. A crime wave on a magnitude nobody could contain.

James Barry’s role of gaining the Queen’s trust, capturing the super computer, and tossing her out the city fits into that underhand attack. Not to mention the Ice Queen’s personal revenge.

PAGE 22

Thus, we get to the ultimate price paid for Bomb Queen’s lust, desire and weakness for love. The loss of her city, her title and the birth of the Bomb King, who, while working for the government, captures and takes over New Port City. I went with a standard metal iron man-style garb here. This indicates a “man in a shell”, since Ice Queen is actually James Barry after a sex change. I picked the name, “James Barry” from an infamous case in the late 1800s UK history. He was enlisted in the military and served a career all while hiding the fact that he was actually a “she”. This intrigued me and I used it, Bomb Queen style, as a means to exploit her sexual lust.

I left this issue with the option for Bomb Queen to fight back… without her rule, weapons and against her own super computer? Basically stripped to nothing, not even the title of “Queen”. This opens another avenue not considered—the psychological angle of self-doubt. Even if a battle is fought and won, can a leader ever go back to glory after falling so hard from so high? I explore that next.

To find out where the story is headed, pick up Bomb Queen II #3, on sale as of today!